Walmart Opens New Neighborhood Market in Evergreen Village

New store offer customers savings with grocery format

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 25, 2013 – Walmart will open a new Walmart Neighborhood Market in the Evergreen area of San Jose on Wednesday, Jan. 30. The store, located in Evergreen Village Square near Aborn Road and Ruby Avenue, is occupying the former Lunardi’s Market space, and will once again provide Evergreen Village with a full-service grocery store.

“Walmart looks forward to serving Evergreen Village by bringing a much-needed grocery store back to the Square,” said Store Manager Priscilla Sanchez. “Not only will the Neighborhood Market revitalize the long-vacant building, it will provide additional healthy, affordable food choices for this community.

Walmart has worked closely with the shopping center owner, Shapell Properties, and the City of San Jose to bring a grocery store anchor back to Evergreen Village Square. “Shappell built the first few phases of Evergreen Village in 2002 with the vision of having a vibrant merchant square for the community to gather and shop close to home, “ said Kelly Erardi, Vice President of Shapell Properties. “We have been working to bring a grocery store anchor back to Evergreen Village Square, and are pleased that Walmart has stepped up to fill the void.”

“Evergreen Coffee Company joins other Evergreen Village Square businesses in welcoming the Walmart Neighborhood Market to the neighborhood,” said owner Denise Belisle. “The square has long sought another grocery store anchor for the vacant space. We are excited for Walmart to join our special community.”

The approximately 41,000-square-foot store features a wide variety of locally produced fruits and vegetables, including those from Ocean Mist Farms, Boskovich Farms, Tanimura and Antle, San Miguel Produce, Earthbound Farm Organic, Naturipe Farms, California Cuties and Foxy Organic, among others. The store will offer fresh bread, as well as meats, cheeses and prepared foods. The self-serve deli will feature rotisserie chicken, fresh-baked pizza and standard deli sides. In addition to the fresh produce, bakery and deli items, the store will carry a full line of groceries, including frozen foods, dairy products, organic items, and an expanded selection of Asian and Mediterranean items.

Shoppers will also appreciate the convenience of the store’s pharmacy and its full range of products and services to support the health and wellness of customers and their families. The pharmacy team can answer questions and offer health and wellness solutions. They can also assist customers who wish to transfer their prescriptions to the Walmart Neighborhood Market.

The store also sells stationery, paper goods, pet products, hardware items and has a Celebration Station, where customers can buy gift wrap and gift bags, greeting cards and party supplies. Customers can also print their own digital photos at the store. The store will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.

“We are thrilled to be opening the Evergreen Village Neighborhood Market just in time for the Super Bowl and spring holidays,” said Sanchez. “From veggie platters, chicken wings and dips for the big game to chocolates, cupcakes and goodies for Valentine's Day, we will have everything you’ll need to have fantastic celebrations.”

The store will offer Site-to-Store, a free service that allows customers to ship online orders from www.wal﻿mart.com free to any Walmart store for pickup. All Walmart stores and Neighborhood Markets participate in the Pay with Cash program. This allows customers to order online at Walmart.com and pay for the items with cash at all stores in the U.S. Walmart is the first major retailer to offer online purchases without the need for banking services or a credit, debit or prepaid card.

Opening Creates 90 JobsApproximately 90 part- and full-time jobs were created with the store opening, said Sanchez who started her Walmart career in 2000 as a part-time hourly associate in Tulare. She transferred to San Jose and has worked at Walmart stores on Monterey Highway and Story Road over the past 10 years. She brings a wealth of experience such as department manager, support manager, and personnel manager to the new Walmart Neighborhood Market.

Grand-Opening CelebrationsThe store will host a grand-opening celebration at 7:15 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 30. Store associates and local dignitaries will participate in a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony. Doors to the new store will be open to the public following the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Special events on grand-opening day include product giveaways and samplings from companies such as Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Bimbo Bakeries, Nabisco and more. Chester Cheetah, the Oreo Cookie Man, the Keebler Elf and Bimbo Bear are scheduled to make appearances, and various entertainment events will also take place. Celebration events are also planned for Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 1 and 2. All events are family-friendly, free and open to the public.

Community Groups Benefit from Grand-Opening GrantsThe grand-opening celebration includes at least $10,000 in grants from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation to local community groups. Recipients include: Alum Rock Youth Center, District 8 Community Round Table, Evergreen Valley Education Foundation, Evergreen Valley High School Band, FAAN Walk for Food Allergy, San Jose Fire Department, San Jose Police Activity League, the San Jose Veteran Center, Shop with a Cop Foundation and Masumoto Elementary School. Additional funds will be available throughout the year for local organizations that serve the community.

Walmart will also be announcing $175,000 in grants from the Walmart Foundation’s California State Giving Council. Recipients include Dress for Success Silicon Valley, the Silicon Valley Education Foundation and the San Jose Public Library Foundation. Non-profit organizations interested in learning more can visit http://www.foundation.walmart.com.

Healthier Food and “Great For You”Walmart made a major commitment to make food healthier and healthier food more affordable, ensuring families won’t have to choose between a product that is good for them and one they can afford. Steps in the healthier food initiative include:

Reformulate thousands of packaged food items by 2015 by reducing sodium and added sugars and removing all remaining industrially produced trans fats.

Make healthier choices more affordable by providing savings on fresh produce and reducing the price premium on “better-for-you” items.

Increase charitable support for nutrition programs that help educate consumers about healthier food solutions and choices.

The “Great For You” icon appears on select Great Value and Marketside products as well as fresh and packaged fruits and vegetables. The icon was developed to help customers easily identify nutritious food options so they can make healthier eating choices for themselves and their families. For more information, visit corporate.walmart.com/healthier-food.

About Walmart Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, more than 200 million customers and members visit our 10,400 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 10 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of approximately $444 billion, Walmart employs more than 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at http://facebook.co﻿m/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmartnewsr﻿oom. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walm﻿art.com and http://www.samsclub﻿.com.